William Bates FRANCIS, Congress, OH (1860-1954)

FRANCIS William Bates , a Representative from Ohio; born near Updegraff, Jefferson County, Ohio, October 25, 1860; attended the public schools; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1889 and commenced practice in Martins Ferry, Belmont County, Ohio; city solicitor in 1897, 1898, and 1900; member of the board of school examiners of Martins Ferry 1903-1908; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1904; member of the board of education of Martins Ferry 1908-1914; elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-second and Sixty-third Congresses (March 4, 1911-March 3, 1915); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1914 to the Sixty-fourth Congress; resumed the practice of his profession; chairman of the Ohio State Civil Service 1931-1935; supervisor of properties for aid to aged, until his retirement; resided in Martins Ferry and later in St. Clairsville, Ohio, until his death in Wheeling, W.Va., December 5, 1954; interment in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, Ohio.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present